No doubt he should be criticized for this

http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Pk38P5IXz1rMbQwTLKDjvL/Whats-behind-Narendra-Modis-governance-slogan.html

Nice discussion on our esteemed past HRD ministers

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/PwVQxqfEWjPw8C2gzl1uHL/Smriti-Irani-as-HRD-minister-Why-not.html

Truly heart warming

Nice to read such stories of grit and determination working out!

Excellent post

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/zMOyxiYzBKrf7BpgAqgk2H/A-singularity-moment-in-Indian-politics.html

Well said.. It is either Modi's way or the highway

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/1tQDFWFOUh2u87SBHoRbZN/India-will-have-to-change-for-Narendra-Modi.html

Only time will tell how this will work.

Principles in Politics

Many educated well to do Indians keep posting facebook updates and blogposts asking for forgiving and supporting Arvind Kejriwal. I have no issue with that. May be he does deserve a second chance.

Some of these posts brought me to think about how much value do I place on non-corrupt ideal non-power hungry politicians. To put it simply not a rat's arse! Let me explain myself. I want non-corrupt political leaders - no doubt. But more than non-corrupt political leaders I want leaders who will work towards policies that will improve the lot of the common man. For example, consider AP from 1995-2004. Hyderabad was not a IT Hub or an educational powerhouse. Nara Chandrra Babu Naidu worked hard to make Hyderabad what it is now. He brought in IT companies that provide jobs to a huge population. I have family members who were reliant only on farming - their kids now earn a good living in Hyderabad because of the work he did. Now, was he non-corrupt - no way. He built an empire of his own (not to the scale of Jagan, but still). I see this as a consequence of  being in a poor developing country. Rich and powerful people will exploit the system and amass huge fortunes - the reason is simple they are in a situation to game the system. Now, so if you stick with principles alone NCB should never be allowed to be a CM. But, I prefer the current scenario where he gains something and does something for the real people. I am willing to forgive individuals who work for others and make money along the way. At no point am I blind to their failings but at the same time I am aware of how their work is making way for the poor people. Remember principles would not put food on their table. For all the well to do folks out there yes - i want India to be corrupt free but i rather have an India that is poverty free before. It is as simple as that. Dont give me idealistic scenarios that both are possible. They are not possible - because only when the size of the poor communities shrinks can we move towards a non-corrupt society.

Now, coming to the national scenario - BJP is no ideal party. There are a number of criminals and corrupt people there. But the alternative we have is Congress which ruled the country for majority of the time and made no reduction in poverty - because they believe in socialism (or to put it bluntly keeping Indians poor to win elections!). BJP, on the other hand, has policies that are directed at growth. See the period from 1998-2004 for evidence of market economics employed under BJP*. So, inspite of the corrupt people in BJP, I will support them because I know their policies implemented will help the poor in the country. Yes, they will make some individuals like Gadkari, or Adani or Ambani or others very rich. Fine by me - they would have gotten rich anyway - now at least we have a lot of poor people who benefit. Now this is a compromise I make everyday. I feel bad that this is the option I have to make. Principles or poverty removal. For me the choice though hard, is rational - I would rather have some people become very rich and others come out of poverty than stick to principles and keep everybody poor. For me it is not worth it. As simple as that.

*PV Narasimha Rao did do good things - but he is not the traditional Congress leader. So that credit cannot go to the Congress party.

Electoral Process

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/H4LgnbVebGL2vZULBBP3WM/Representation-every-time.html

The recently concluded elections have brought the issue of the election system into the discussion. While I don't completely agree with the first past the post system that we have in India - I have an issue with the timing of these articles. I did not see any of these authors complain in 2009.

Anyway, I feel a system whereby seats are allocated proportional to number of votes you win irrespective of whether you finis first or second is a useful system. For example, you could 543 seats being decided by who wins - but then have a set of seats (around 543 to be meaningful) that are allocated to various parties based on vote %s with a minimum  - may be 5-10% in the region the party contests. So this way a party like BSP with 4% vote share will end up with 25 seats in the proportion allocated seats. So this will ensure better representation of the electorate. More importantly voters can stop worrying about the value of their vote. Currently every vote to the losing candidate us a wasted vote - but in the proportional system you can still contribute to the party of your choice. The system is in place in Germany and has been around for sometime. If we apply this system to the current election - BJP will not get such a resounding majority. Of course, in a country like India it will keep throwing up coalition after coalition - so that is the downside to providing improved representation. But it is a process that needs to be discussed in public forums.

Good rebuttal to the crap being doled out

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/dNShxc6zqMvTGOcXilE4kO/Delhis-opiated-intellectuals.html

Seriously dude..

Utter hypocrisy from this man - portraying people who supported Modi as right wing RSS types.

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/hNdjVFTqfkl0nEd690YsDK/Mandate-2014-Triumph-of-the-spin.html

As long as such idiotic analyses are propagated it will get easier for Modi to consolidate his position.

Well put..

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/NZId23tgumr4zpyq6TzwPJ/Narendra-Modis-win-false-predictions-of-secularism.html

Another good piece

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5335290?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

I can't say it any better!

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IUB/~3/zkA-wc8orB8/

Interesting

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/DuPW6mKqICkk4QC1HYz8bI/Time-for-a-postdynastic-democracy.html

Election 2014 - thoughts on AAP

Well, now that the election results are out and the dust has settled it is time to talk about my thoughts on the newest entrant AAP.

I genuinely feel Indian democracy will be better with AAP. But, I just hope they can get their act together. While AAP "offers" transparent and honest government - they are way of the mark in their economic policies. In my opinion, in the next few days, they have a choice to make - establish themselves as a credible party by working hard in the MP seats they won (4 I think) and prove that they can translate their words into action. If they can set up this example of responsible behavior - they can become more mainstream. I think their decision to resign from Delhi came back to bite them. There is a difference between activism and governance. If you take up the reins of governance you will need to learn to compromise - not with ethics - but prioritize and identify things to change. You cannot change everything in one day - patience is essential. They can contribute to Indian democracy by being the torch bearers for cleaner politics. For this they will have to prune themselves in size and focus on clean candidate in select urban locations. They should have focused on 20 Lok Sabha seats instead of having 422 candidate - they lose credibility by taking such steps. While I never see myself agreeing with economic philosophies drawn from communist and left leaning intellectuals, they can provide a true Left of center party (as opposed to the current dynastic culture of congress). But they have to be patient and put in the hard work. If not, it will be one of those blimps on the Indian election spectrum that will die out in a short time.

The results are out

The results of the 2014 elections are out. As I was nervously awaiting the results I realized I was more nervous about Seemandhra results than India.

At the national level - as anybody who reads my blog would know - I supported BJP. Not because I see an all conquering party or leader but because they were the only non-congress option that was close on economic policy to my personal beliefs. Even before Modi was in the frame I wanted BJP to win. The results have exceeded my expectations - I was thinking NDA would get 300 in the best case (prob of 0.1). Now BJP alone is near that number. I am still worried about Modi - there is something about him that is unsettling. Of course, with all the uncertainity I still support BJP - I am a stringent opponent of welfare schemes that Congress and other center left parties espouse. One thing I feel is Modi deserves enormous credit for his hard work and his ambition - whether you agree with him or not - sheer determination to get what he wanted, on its own is admirable. I just hope that he will work for India as he promised. Congratulations and good wishes to the new PM of India.

At the state level, I was happy to see CB Naidu win - I think a new state needs a strong administration and I expect him to deliver.

Now is the more arduous time - people you thought were the candidates have won - you wait to see if they deliver. Hoping they would!

I hope Mr. Singh gets to read this article

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/tXrjOFiKHYLhrEcCW1grDO/No-orchids-for-Manmohan-Singh.html

Have to agree on this one

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/P4dG53Qr02t5HGTq6zBY1H/Voting-for-a-liberal-democracy.html

Power before people - No attention is given to Gagoi

Why are all the secular folks silent on a Muslim massacre? Is it because the CM is from a secular party? As long as i claim to be secular I don't have to take responsibility for riots - great!

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/fiuc2i9VWZOa2Yf4nOB91I/The-killing-fields-of-Assam-and-a-modern-day-Nero.html

People who are over joyed with potential Modi victory

Should read this.
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/9NIOOTsZCFWnuFX5OO9XNL/Narendra-Modi-The-making-of-the-political-leader.html

Finally I and Mr.Patel agree on something

http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ZzIkwhbE3ijkGKNt9EU6FJ/Exit-polls-Why-Im-watching-Bihar.html

Well put

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/BLK88bBFDlUjCtN43d2ltI/Narendra-Modi-needs-to-upgrade-to-20.html

Fun as usual

http://greatbong.net/2014/05/08/fascism-is-coming

Such a sad state of affairs

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/72zDXx7mpzRVaJnx6eG3gM/Why-there-is-no-stopping-Boko-Haram.html

Over exaggerating as always

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/xXg2gAKusJIzQZBfMAb4xO/Finding-balance-in-Varanasi.html

Well put sir!

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/3ItJCpGwvB4ejtZdmPFWDK/Fearing-NaMo.html

Interesting piece

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ZZxLifb1BaZpM04GdzOIRN/Economic-inequality-after-Thomas-Piketty.html

Excellent analysis

Of Picketty's book Capital. No wonder Paul Krugman loved it - It is so idealistically socialist it is bound to fall flat.

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/NNureRXe6iqRaWh2NXQudP/Book-Review--Capital-in-the-TwentyFirst-Century.html